Google chrome

02 September 2008

Well, it was time for web-giant Google to jump the gap between being the world leader in providing web-based services to actually providing… the web.

Today Google launched the Beta version of Google Chrome, which will be the revolutionary browser nowadays, as Google claims. But what makes it so great? Well, Google announced in a very entertaining comic-book that it was going to provide a solution to every single problem in today's browsers, but is it true?

I am actually writing this post from Google Chrome, to test it out, and I have to say that it is impressive, fast, smart… and a very long list of good things, although it is not as intuitive as I would like it to be. We are used to browsers like Firefox, Safari… and others that share a basic layout and style that Chrome has overthrown completely. Suddenly there are no "File", "Edit", "View" and all the usual windows tabs, there are almost no configuration options, but there is simplicity and ease instead, which combined find the perfect balance.

The main drawback though is the lack of Extensions or plugins. I miss Stumbling Upon the web, my Firebug, and other small things that add up to a lot… Although I guess It'll be just a matter of time until they develop the extension system and main developers prepare the "Chrome" version of the add-ons.

My rating, if I was faced from a 0-10 choice would be around a 7. But the lack of plugins will never allow it for more. Maybe a normal user will find it perfect, but a developer and a user that spends hours a day watching for new stuff all over the web needs more than "The basics".

2013 Update

Interesting to see my opinion at launch. I currently use Chrome on a daily basis, it offers an incredible developer console, and grew to have a very comprehensive addon collection.
I’ll come back in a few more years.